CAREERS MEDIA: 'Wild horse' lured out of academia by love for research industry

<p>When change is in the air in China's media industry there is one </p><p>person who won't be far away. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Friends always called me the 'wild horse' because I never went down the </p><p>path that was expected," said Ms Zoe Tan, who recently made the move </p><p>from director of client and media services China for market research </p><p>specialist ACNielsen to director of strategic resources with Zenith </p><p>Media Beijing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"If I had taken the expected path I would still be in academia, but I </p><p>want to be part of change. I get bored quickly when I repeat myself. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I see myself as part of history being made in one industry." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Tan, who lived in the US for 16 years, received her PhD in mass </p><p>communication from Michigan University in 1987 and taught as a professor </p><p>for several years. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>She moved from the classroom into media research, and now, for the first </p><p>time, is working for an agency and said she is very excited about the </p><p>change that is imminent within the sector. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While for a long time it was generally understood that creative was </p><p>paramount in advertising, with research being given the back seat, the </p><p>understanding is that this has changed and will change even more. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While media independents were established to specialise in media </p><p>planning and buying, integration of creative and media research is a top </p><p>priority too. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"While I was working at ACNielsen where the audience is a given factor I </p><p>trumpeted syndicated research. But even then I asked myself what is </p><p>there beyond the numbers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Now I say syndicated research is only the foundation for proprietary </p><p>research, which we need to do to truly understand the audience," said Ms </p><p>Tan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Now the audience needs to be found." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Tan is well prepared for the challenge: she left academia in the US </p><p>in 1994 in order to be part of the developing cable TV industry in </p><p>Taiwan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>She then started working for ACNielsen looking at media in Taiwan and </p><p>her responsibilities were soon transferred to the mainland Chinese TV </p><p>market first from Hong Kong and then moving to Beijing in 1997. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While working for ACNielsen Ms Tan worked closely together with TV </p><p>stations on the mainland introducing ratings and people meters to </p><p>clients largely unfamiliar with media research. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I was part of introducing one revolutionising TV research tool in China </p><p>- the Peoplemeter - where before there were only diary systems," </p><p>recalled Ms Tan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"TV station presidents are now eager to install ratings software on </p><p>their laptops, which they would use in their talks to clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The sophistication of TV stations and the acceptance of research have </p><p>grown tremendously with TV content changing due to ratings </p><p>findings." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, she still sees that knowledge and understanding lag behind the </p><p>passion to adopt modern research tools. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ratings are not everything, said Ms Tan, if we only follow ratings </p><p>programming will become too similar while only offering drama and </p><p>variety shows. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Agencies need to shape and have a stake in the maturing of the market," </p><p>says Ms Tan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With too much pressure to appeal to mass markets and achieve high </p><p>ratings, niche channels and quality programming will not have a chance </p><p>to develop even though they often cater to highly educated target </p><p>markets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Tan sees a rosy future for cable if allowed to develop, but on the </p><p>mainland this is difficult, as terrestrial TV will inevitably lose some </p><p>of its influential clout. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Tan, who sees herself not so much as a TV specialist but rather a </p><p>media generalist, believes that IMC will again revolutionise the </p><p>industry as Peoplemeters have done for TV and hence is excited about the </p><p>challenge ahead. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The importance of media placement has been recognised and we now need </p><p>to concentrate on the consumer," she said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Research becomes the backbone of everything, which makes the industry </p><p>more complicated and also costly. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The question is not is the Chinese consumer ready for it, but how ready </p><p>are the clients and agency? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But those who will make it happen first will be the leaders for a while </p><p>to come." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Source: CMM Intelligence. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>